Thunder Beast Arms 30P-1 Initial Impressions

Almost eleven months after paying for it, I walked out of my local FFL with the Thunder Beast Arms Corp. 30P-1 Suppressor. I can tell you that the wait was worth it.

The next day after picking it up, I was able to sneak out to the range for a short test run. The only bolt rifle that was threaded at the correct pitch AND had ammo on the shelf was the Remington 700 AAC-SD in a Cadex Chassis. I was slightly concerned because the 700 AAC-SD has not been a stellar performer.

I did not have a chance to have the muzzle threads checked for concentricity before picking up the suppressor. If the threads were not concentric to the bore, it could cause the bullet to strike an internal baffle or the end cap, damaging the suppressor. This type of damage is expressly exempt from TBAC’s warranty.

The TBAC 30P-1 and my tactical silicon pot holder.

I pulled the AAC brake off the rifle and threaded on the 30P-1. After pulling the bolt and sighting down the bore my fears were placated. I could see the bore, but not the suppressor. This meant there was nothing in the way of a bullet. As long as the bullets came out of the muzzle stable, they would clear the baffles.

With that check done, I grabbed my gear and headed out to the range. I threw some Southwest Ammo SW118LR in the bag for the initial shoot. This is a load makes nice round holes at close range, signifying that the bullets are leaving the muzzle stable and not tumbling. I fired a quick group without the old brake to get an accurate un-suppressed baseline.

Without correcting for zero, I spun the TBAC 30P-1 hand tight and fired five shots. The suppressed group was 0.3 mRad below and 0.2 mRad left of the un-suppressed group. At 100 yards, the two groups were within an inch of each other.

I corrected the 100 yard zero for the suppressor, then dialed on the 380 yard dope and spent the next several magazines banging away at a reduced IPSC steel plate. I didn’t bring the Magnetospeed on this trip, so I can’t comment on muzzle velocity. The impacts tell me it hasn’t changed much, if at all.

Once I got my kicks hearing “pshhhht………ding!”, I decided to do a short Return To Zero (RTZ) test. Back on the 100 yard paper target, I zeroed out the scope. I backed the 30P-1 off several threads. Then I snugged it back down as tight as I could with my hand and the silicon pot holder I keep for this purpose. With the suppressor tight, I fired a shot. I then repeated the process four more times for a total of five shots.

Five shots at 100 yards. The inner circle is 0.75″.

Now before the hate mail rolls in, I know this wasn’t a real “test.” The precision cut threads were still engaged for all five shots and it was ONLY five shots. I was limited on time and it takes some time to unscrew that direct thread can all the way off of the muzzle. Still, the group was just over 1/2″ with me dancing back and forth on the rifle. In fact, looking at the shot group, I think I can see some shooter error in it. We will see if this holds up over a ten shot group, totally removing the suppressor from the barrel.

This was just the first outing with the Thunder Beast Arms Corporation, 30P-1. Once we get some more time with it and run it on several different platforms, we will do a more thorough review.